Detention Pay Calculator for Truck Drivers

How the detention calculator works

Detention is time math, and the rules come from your rate con. The calculator follows the most common setup:

Clock start = the later of your check-in and your appointment time
Counted time = check-out − clock start
Billable time = counted time − free time, rounded down to the billing increment, up to any cap
Detention pay = billable hours × hourly rate

If you check in after the appointment and the rate con says late arrival voids detention, billable time is zero. Turn that rule off in the assumptions if your terms are different. Times past midnight work as you'd expect: check in at 9:45 pm, out at 3:15 am, and it counts five and a half hours.

A worked example

A reefer has an 8:00 am appointment at a produce shed. The driver checks in at 7:30 am and leaves at 1:00 pm. The rate con says two hours free, then $50 an hour in 15-minute increments.

Worked exampleEXAMPLE

On site: 5h 30m
Counted: 5h 00m
Billable: 3h 00m
Detention pay: $150

The half hour before the appointment doesn't count, the first two hours after it are free, and the last three hours bill at $50. If the driver had checked in at 8:20, the rate con's late-arrival rule would void detention entirely, even though the wait was nearly as long.

The two-hour standard

The trucking industry standard is that a driver should be loaded or unloaded and back on the road within 2 hours of arriving at a facility; time past that is detention.

Source: USDOT Office of Inspector General, report ST2018019 (2018), October 2026

That's why two hours is the default free time here. Your rate con may say something else; always use its terms.

Getting detention paid

Before the load: get free time, hourly rate, increment, cap and notification rules written on the rate con.
At the dock: have in and out times written on the bill of lading and signed.
While waiting: tell the broker when free time is about to run out, if the rate con asks for it.
After delivery: invoice the detention with the paperwork, not weeks later.

Reefer carriers wait the longest, at produce sheds in peak season and at busy grocery warehouses, and pay twice for it, because the unit burns fuel the whole time. That's where detention terms matter most. See reefer dispatch.

Detention, layover and TONU

Detention covers waiting at the dock. If the wait runs so long that you can't load or unload until the next day, that's usually layover, paid as a flat daily amount instead of by the hour. If the load is cancelled after you arrive, that's truck ordered not used, or TONU, a flat fee for the wasted trip. Each needs its own line on the rate con; detention terms don't automatically cover the other two.

Detention by truck type

Every truck waits, but the cost differs. A reefer burns unit fuel through the whole wait and carries the risk of product warming if the doors sit open. A flatbed at a job site may wait for a forklift or crane that isn't there yet. A 26 ft box truck on a multi-stop route can lose the rest of its day to one slow receiver, which is why detention per stop matters on those routes. Pick your truck in the calculator; the math is the same, but how hard you push for terms should match what waiting costs you.

Common detention mistakes

Accepting the load before detention terms are written down.
Forgetting to get in and out times signed on the BOL.
Not telling the broker when free time runs out, when the rate con requires it.
Invoicing detention weeks after delivery, when nobody remembers the wait.

Detention fee trucking: who pays

The broker pays the carrier the detention agreed on the rate con, and usually bills the shipper or receiver in turn. As a carrier, your agreement is with the broker, so that's where the terms need to be. Our dispatchers ask for detention terms before a load reaches you, and you see them before you say yes. The broker sends the rate con straight to you, so you can check every term yourself.

Questions about this calculator

Q01What is detention pay in trucking?

Detention pay is what a broker or shipper pays a carrier when the truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time agreed on the rate con. The trucking industry standard is that a driver should be loaded or unloaded and back on the road within 2 hours of arriving at a facility; time past that is detention. Detention is usually paid per hour after that, often with a set billing increment and sometimes a daily cap.

Q02How is detention pay calculated?

Start the clock at the later of your arrival and your appointment time. Subtract the free time, often two hours. Round the rest down to the billing increment on your rate con, apply any cap, then multiply by the hourly rate. Arrive four hours before your appointment and those early hours usually don't count.

Q03Do I get detention if I arrive late?

Often not. Many rate cons say late arrival voids detention, because the facility had to fit you in. If your rate con doesn't say, ask before you sign. Running late because of the shipper on a previous stop is worth documenting, but don't count on being paid for it.

Q04What proof do I need for detention?

In and out times written on the bill of lading and signed or stamped by the facility, plus anything the rate con asks for, such as a call to the broker when free time runs out. Many brokers want to be told while you're still waiting, not afterwards, so read the notification terms on the rate con.

Q05Should truck drivers get detention pay for long waits?

Yes, if the broker agreed to it. Waiting costs real money: detention was estimated to cut truck driver earnings by $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion a year, and carrier income by $250 million to $302 million a year, according to the USDOT Inspector General. The fix is getting detention terms on the rate con before you accept the load.

Detention pay calculator: what a long wait at the dock is worth